1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a component-containing substrate that contains electronic components and includes an insulation film made of resin, a method for manufacturing the substrate, and a semiconductor device mounted with a semiconductor chip on the component-containing substrate so as to perform a function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic equipment has recently been decreased in size, reduced in thickness, and improved in performance as semiconductor integrated circuit technology progresses and, accordingly, semiconductor chips or electronic components have been miniaturized and thinned. This has been combined with high density wiring in a circuit board to achieve a high-density module that was difficult to do conventionally. In particular, portable electronic information equipment, such as digital cellular phones and PHSs (Personal Handyphone Systems), which transfer data at a rate of several tens to several hundreds of kbps (kilobits per second) using a quasi-millimeter-wave-band frequency, is desired to further increase in speed in accordance with the development of high-speed communications systems for transferring still and moving images, etc. Accordingly, there has been a demand for semiconductor chip packages and electronic components to be mounted with higher density in order to encase a large-scale, complicated and high-speed circuit in a small-sized casing.
To meet the above demand, the method for mounting a semiconductor chip is changing from a package pattern using a conventional lead frame to a package pattern such as a ball grid array (BGA) and a chip scale package (CSP) that are favorable for miniaturization, thinness, and multiple pins. At present, a CSP of a plurality of semiconductor chips stacked three-dimensionally is being developed. On the other hand, electronic components, which include passive elements such as resistors and capacitors that are mounted on a circuit board with a semiconductor package, are mounted by surface mount technology as chip components of a ceramics package. The size of the components is decreasing from 1005 to 0603.
Even though semiconductor elements and active components decrease in size and improve in integration, since an assembly of semiconductor elements and passive components always requires a physical space for arranging the components, the miniaturization of the entire device and the reduction in electrical distance between the semiconductor element and the passive component is limited. In order to deal with this restriction, a substrate structure containing components is proposed. For example, a semiconductor package containing electronic components such as a resistor, a capacitor and an inductor on a substrate section is disclosed in Rao R. Tumura et al., “Proceedings of IEMT/IMC,” 1999, pp 217 to 224. In this package, the electronic components are formed together with a wiring layer in the stage of forming a built-up layer on a core substrate. In this method, however, a step of forming an element is added to that of forming the substrate. Thus, a process is likely to be redundant and an improvement in yield cannot be expected.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-220262 discloses a conventional stacked structure including a plurality of substrates each mounted with chip components. The components are connected to each other by a conductive paste buried into via holes formed by means of a laser. Since the chip components are commonly used ones, the problem associated with addition of a process is reduced. However, the following problems arise. The thickness of each chip component is 0.5 mm or more and thus that of the structure of the substrates reaches several millimeters. If the thickness of the components is not uniformed, the substrates are difficult to flatten.
Furthermore, an area for providing a connecting portion between a component and an electrode on wiring and that for forming a via hole connecting the substrates are required in addition to a projected area for the chip components. It is thus difficult to achieve a high-density structure.